We
praise Allah for another year of peace and progress in our beloved motherland,
The Gambia. As we look forward to another new year, it is incumbent on us to
reflect on the past while planning for the future. Like any other, the New Year will bring
challenges, opportunities and successes, but each challenge should unite us,
and each accomplishment should make us stronger. Indeed, ours is a strong
nation, and as believers who put their trust in the Omnipotent Allah, our
optimism is boundless. Indeed we can achieve any goal we set ourselves and lift
our nation to greater heights if we work together towards a common destiny.

We have come a
long way in our journey for national development. We have brought education to
the doorsteps of all Gambians; we have made affordable health care available to
all and sundry to the extent that even communities that lie across our border
come to The Gambia for basic health care at costs next to nothing.

We have built
roads and other critical infrastructure that have brought to life areas of this
country that once laid waste due to lack of accessible roads. These areas are
not even far away, just in the suburbs here, the coastal roads are one of the
shining ornaments of development ushered in by the July 22nd Revolution.

Government will
continue the rehabilitation and expansion of our existing rural, urban and
cross-country road networks. The vital Brikama-Soma highway is almost complete
and by the end of the first quarter of 2014, the entire south bank road stretch
- Banjul to Basse would have been completed. The much talked-about Laminkoto
Passimus road that used to be dangled to Gambians as an attractive candy for
political ends during the first republic will finally see the light of day with
a new project for its construction to be commissioned in 2014 inshaa Allah. The
funds for the project have been secured by the grace of Allah and it will be my
pleasure to present this to Gambians as yet another fulfillment of a promise to
my beloved citizens of this great country.

Our development
achievements were attained in the past 19 years thanks to a vision for national
development that is anchored on faith in the Almighty Allah, self-reliance and
honest productive work.

Having come thus
far, with the philosophy outlined above, I am not going to change that
philosophy overnight because of foreign influence tagged to the bait of aid
that is conditioned on the acceptance of alien cultures like homosexuality and
unbridled freedoms that are not in line with our religious and cultural
beliefs.

Yes we will
guarantee the rights of all Gambians within the framework of our established
traditions and cultural norms. Yet the guaranteeing of such rights is
sacrosanct only to the extent that they do not trespass onto the rights of
others or the general welfare of our society. Therefore, taking from the theme
of the last July 22nd anniversary, I want to once again remind all Gambians to
strive together and live in peace and harmony according to our religion.

Let me hasten to
add here, though, that my call for us to live according to our religion is not
limited to the traditional concepts of worship in mosques and churches only.
Yes we should continue to pray in our churches and mosques but our religions are
not confined to the narrow definitions of worship that we tend to limit them
to. The religions brought to us, by Jesus Christ and his brother in spirit
Muhammad (SAWS) did not only teach us the art of praying but brought us
practical examples of how to work and earn legal and decent livings based on
the law of Allah. Their teachings showed us the importance of self-reliance
based on faith. Just like both religions fought and won battles literarily and
metaphorically based on faith but also active participation of their followers;
so shall we win our battles, against poverty and ignorance based on faith but
worked by our owns hands and sweat.

In this vein,
let me call on my brothers and sisters, the Gambian youths, to heed my call to
go back to the land and the sea to help our parents and our young ones to
achieve food self-sufficiency. This call to action is not a new one. It was my
clarion call from day one when I took over the reigns of power in this country
and I have been explaining this principle in many ways but more specifically
through my proverbial three days that define the world: yesterday, today and
tomorrow.

Yesterday I
called on our youths to join my mission to cultivate our lands and feed
ourselves. Some heeded the call, the majority did not. Today after the global
food, fuel and financial crises, my calls have been heeded better than before
because of the experience that we went through with the rest of the world
albeit, the impact was less severe here due to proactive fiscal measures undertaken
by my Government to lessen the impact of these crises. Now that most youths are
heeding my call to go back to the land, let me invite you all to join me in my
mission of making The Gambia self-sufficient in food production by the year
2016.

Already we have
great signs that our goal is achievable by the significant increase in food
production nationwide not only in recent years, but particularly 2013. In this
vein I want to commend all those youths that have joined this bandwagon such as
the Youth in Agriculture and Fishing initiative (YAFI), under the aegis of the
APRC bureau. I want to encourage other youths to come up with pragmatic
projects in the area of agriculture and fishing because my promise to fund such
ventures still stands. It is my promise to fund such initiatives and I await
project proposals in this direction.

Let me take this
opportunity to caution Government officials managing agricultural and other
social projects funded by Government loans and grants that the days of paper
projects that yield no tangible results are over! We are sick and tired of
projects that would spend millions of dollars on the purchase of cars, fuel and
per diem for travels only to submit reports at the end of the day that gather
dust on our desks without any impact on the livelihoods of our women and
children.

The Office of
the President is now actively monitoring progress on all projects and the basic
defining rule for continuity and job security for project officials is “results
or retribution!” you either deliver the expected results or go home at best;
and at worst go to the State’s five star hotel. We want our projects to create
useful outputs while providing the opportunity for gainful employment for the
citizens of this country.

On the
international front, The Gambia will continue her active participation in our
regional and international organisations with a view to continue to contribute
positively and significantly in global issues. As a model for peace, stability
and religious tolerance, we will continue to advocate for the peaceful
resolution of all conflicts without taking sides. Our foreign policy remains
anchored on our faith in Allah who has created all of us as brothers and
sisters in one human family. We will respect the sovereignty of all nations just
like we expect others to respect our independence and sovereignty.

Our principle is
based on the equality of nations regardless of size, colour, and other mundane
considerations. We stand for the truth and we speak for the voiceless anywhere
in the world because we have faith that there is only One God, Allah, before
whom we are all equal. We are not against any country or race. We believe in
the oneness of humanity and we shall continue to operate our foreign policy
within that framework in our dealings with other nations and expecting nothing
less than, mutual respect.

As we celebrate
yet another new year, we pray for the restoration of peace and tranquility in
all the troubled regions of the world, especially on the African continent.

We pray to Allah
(SWT) as He taught us at the end of Surah Fatiha to continue to “Show us the
straightway, The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose
(portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.” Aameen. Happy New Year!

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